In both the public and private aircraft industry, efficient ground support operation is paramount, and often determinative, in the successful and timely fulfillment of flight scheduling requirements, and thus, overall consumer demands. Indeed, delayed flights, departures and arrivals alike, may often be aptly attributed to unintentional deviations in ground support standards and/or procedural operations. Unfortunately, such delays typically create much angst amongst already fatigued travelers and, thus, often negatively impact upon future consumer reflection and/or dependency on a particular airline. Needless to say, recurrent delays in such business operations can have a devastating affect on the viability of an airline.
Many airline delays arising from errors and inefficiencies in ground support operations are largely the result of misjudgments made in the operation of vehicular ground support equipment. That is, such vehicular ground support equipment, which may include tractors, deicing equipment and belt loaders, must typically come within close proximity to a parked aircraft. Accordingly, human error, primarily in the form of misjudgments and miscalculations in the operational and physical parameters of such equipment, often causes accidental collision of the vehicular ground support equipment with the parked aircraft. Such is particularly the case with belt loader equipment, wherein the operator must steadily maneuver and position a relatively lengthy belt or conveyor arm proximate to the baggage or cargo doors of an aircraft, whilst maintaining the distal end of the conveyor arm a sufficient distance from the aircraft body. As may be evident, such belt loader operation and maneuvering often requires multiple airline ramp technicians to effectively assist in visually guiding the equipment operator toward the aircraft, and in his/her positioning of the belt/conveyor arm proximate thereto. Unfortunately, such a process is highly labor-intensive and often still results in collision between the belt arm and aircraft body.
As such, and typically pursuant to standard airline protocol, the effect of such a collision or impact on the structural integrity and overall mechanics of the aircraft must be thoroughly assessed and, if applicable, accordingly serviced and repaired, prior to releasing the aircraft for subsequent operation. Consequently, repeat accidents of the foregoing nature can literally cost an airline hundreds of millions of dollars per year in lost revenue, either due to the shear inability to provide flights due to a low volume of available operational aircraft, and/or due to consumer refusal to pay inflated ticket prices implemented by the airline administration in an effort to cover the expenses arising from such accidents.
Although most vehicular ground support equipment, including belt loaders, comprise some form of impact-reducing or collision-buffering assembly, such as rubber padded bumpers formed at the distal end of a belt loader arm, most such assemblies are typically limited in the ability to effectively absorb and disperse the structural shock delivered from high impact collisions between the vehicle, or components thereof, and the parked aircraft. Even still, minor impacts can, and often do, cause significant, albeit facially undetectable, internal structural damage to the aircraft; thereby, necessitating the afore-described airline servicing protocol.
Therefore, it is readily apparent that there is a need for an actuated braking and distance sensing system for operational regulation of belt loader equipment and/or other applicable ground support equipment, wherein the present braking and sensing system effectively gauges, regulates and governs the operational distance and parameters of a selected piece of ground support equipment, and/or a structural component thereof, from the surface of an aircraft. There is a further need for such a braking and sensing system that actuates auditory and visual warning systems and, ultimately, an emergency braking system so as to automatically, and without human intervention, bring the equipment to a full stop prior to forceful impact and/or collision of same with the aircraft body.